In History Today :: Birth of Amrish Puri [ 22 June 1932 ]

June 21, 2015 :: In History Today :: Birth of Amrish Puri [ 22 June 1932 ]

Amrish Lal Puri ( 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 ) was an Indian leading theatre and film actor, who was a key player in the Indian theatre movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad. However, he is primarily remembered for playing iconic negative roles in Hindi cinema as well as other Indian and international film industries. To Indian audiences he is the most remembered for his role as Mogambo in Shekhar Kapur’s Hindi film Mr. India (1987), and to Western audiences he is best known as Mola Ram in Steven Spielberg’s Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

Amrish Puri was born in Nawanshahr India, Former Tehsil of District Jalandhar, Punjab to Lala Nihal Chand Puri and Ved Kaur. He had four siblings, elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both of whom also became actors), elder sister Chandrakanta, and a younger brother, Harish Puri.